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Chronic Disease, Emotional health, Essential Oils, Gut Health, Kids Health, Natural pain relief, Natural Sleep Support, Supplements, Women's health

This Is Why I Recommend Copaiba Over CBD

October 27, 2019by Brandy FalconNo Comments
Copaiba essential oil vs. CBD

When it comes to managing modern health challenges like chronic stress, anxiety, and inflammatory conditions, it’s best to take a natural approach. People now realize how dangerous it can be to become dependent on pain killers and mood-altering drugs. Cannabidiol (CBD), is a popular natural solution, but the lesser-known Copaiba essential oil is even better in my opinion. Here’s why I think it’s a clear winner when people are considering Copaiba essential oil vs. CBD for holistic health.

Why Focus on the Endocannabinoid System?

The endocannabinoid system has only been studied in depth over the last decade. Scientists discovered that there’s a nexus of cannabinoid receptors on cells throughout the entire body that interact with cannabinoids and can be key in managing disease. So far, they recognize two types of receptors.

CB1 receptors reside in the brain and link with Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical derived from the Cannabis sativa plant. This explains the “high” that someone experiences when they use it.

CB2 receptors cover cells everywhere else in the body. They receive two cannabinoids: Cannabidiol (CBD) which is also derived from Cannabis sativa and beta-caryophyllene which is largely present in Copaiba essential oil (also in black pepper, clove, melissa, and rosemary essential oils, but in a smaller amount) . CB2 receptors support the nervous, cardiovascular, digestive, and immune systems and are responsible for healthy inflammatory response.  

CB2 activation does not create a psychoactive experience like CB1 receptors, so one becomes very relaxed but not “high”.

Many of our health issues these days are due to stress, or too much time spent in a sympathetic nervous system state (flight or flight) as opposed to the parasympathetic state (rest and digest). We also have issues with lowered immunity or auto-immunity. Then there’s pain and inflammation that have many causes. CBD and beta-caryophyllene from Copaiba essential oil both create beneficial systemic effects that help manage symptoms of these health challenges and increase our body’s capacity to heal.

Efficacy of Copaiba Essential Oil vs. CBD

One of the reasons Copaiba sets itself apart from CBD is that it’s cannabinoid binds directly to CB2 receptors! Beta-caryophyllene is quickly available for the body and has a long half-life, meaning it lasts long in the body.

CBD, on the other hand, binds indirectly after several internal processes, which means it takes longer to provide symptom relief. The longer activation cascade of CBD also make dosage confusing because the amount of CBD that’s activated is not always consistent. CBD has a shorter half-life than Copaiba’s beta-caryophyllene

Generally, a smaller amount of high-quality Copaiba essential oil is needed for beneficial effects compared to CBD. You get what you pay for in both industries. But even the more expensive therapeutic-grade brands are still a less expensive option than CBD because of the dose difference.

Research Supporting Copaiba Essential Oil

Exciting research shows that Copaiba essential oil can help with many health challenges!

Check out these studies to learn more:

How to Use Copaiba Essential Oil

Here’s some ideas of how you can use Copaiba essential oil for holistic health at home.

Aromatic

Place a few drops in a water diffuser to relax your mood. It blends well aromatically with Lavender, Douglas Fir, Frankincense, Peppermint, Clary Sage, and many other essential oils.

Topical

Combine 3-5 drops of Copaiba with 1 oz. of carrier oil like Fractionated Coconut Oil and massage into target areas of the body.

Another fabulous benefit of Copaiba is that it enhances the effects of other essential oils. Try these powerful combinations:

  • Blend with Deep Blue to massage into any painful or inflamed regions of the body
  • Add into moisturizer along with Geranium and Frankincense to care for blemished, dry, or wrinkled skin
  • Massage into soles of feet along with Vetiver to support deeper sleep.

Internal

Take 1-2 drops of therapeutic-grade Copaiba essential oil under tongue or in a vegetable capsule with olive oil to access all of it’s health benefits.

Have you used Copaiba essential oil? Please share your experience in the comments! I’d especially love to hear if you’ve been able to compare it to CBD. Which do you prefer? Well wishes to you…

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Copaiba vs CBD
Chronic Disease, Emotional health, Environmental Concerns, Essential Oils, Kids Health, Natural pain relief, Organic lifestyle, Toxin-free living, Women's health

Why Is Everyone So Excited About Essential Oils?

July 1, 2019by Brandy FalconNo Comments
excited about essential oils
There was a time in American history when essential oils were only used by traditional healers, massage therapists, and subculture flower children. But now, we have modern families, business owners, and even medical doctors using them in their homes and professions.  Why is everyone so excited about essential oils these days?

Here are 5 reasons why I believe essential oils are back to stay! After reading them, you may decide to incorporate them into your lifestyle too!

Why essential oils popular?

1. We need alternative healthcare

Essential oil knowledge was lost when modern medicine became popular in the United States. This is because people used to think Western medicine was more evolved, and therefore should have greater respect. Some innovations, like life-saving surgeries and fertility procedures are truly miraculous.  However, this standard of care is only focused on palliative measures.  It doesn’t address the root cause of health imbalances. We need and expect more.

We’re realizing that Western Medicine is not making us healthier. We are wising up and asking:

WHY is this happening to me?

WHAT does my body need to be healthier?

HOW can I maintain health?

Nature, traditional medicines, alternative health practitioners, and your own intuition are the best guides.

Essential oils are gifts from nature that help support physiological functions, improve mood, control infections, and thereby add to our health.

2. Essential oils are effective alternatives to toxic products

We are living in a toxic soup that triggers many health problems in our population. Visit EWG.org to learn more about pesticides, herbicides, antibacterial agents, and other threats in our environment. They’re still legal in the U.S., even they disrupt hormones, destroy gut flora, decrease immunity, and cause cancer. Therefore, it’s up to manufacturers to remove them from their products or up to consumers to stop buying them.

Essential oils can clean our homes and bodies. Many families make their own home and personal care products using essential oils. There’s also some trusted companies who provide ready-made products using essential oils.  These are safe and effective replacements to toxic conventional products found on grocery store shelves.

3. Essential oils have been used effectively for thousands of years

Did you know essential oils have been used from the beginning of history? Ancient Chinese, Indian, Greek, and Egyptian civilizations prized them for their beauty enhancing, spiritual, and therapeutic value. So even though they are new to Americans, that’s not so in the rest of the world.

Our culture is starting to respect older modalities like my profession of Chinese Medicine, as well as using Essential Oils. I would not call it a trend.  Americans are just now seeing what has always been around – an awakening of sorts!

4. People want to feel empowered & resourceful with health choices

Many people these days don’t believe that “doctors know best”. It’s important to have a health practitioner as a guide or for a different perspective.  However, most people have the awareness to know when they’re well or not though, and whether it’s an emergency. They know how to research and experiment with natural remedies and determine if they’re working.

Moms in particular, want to trust their instincts more.  They want to be resourceful and feel empowered with their choices, just as our ancestors were. They know their children better than anyone else! It’s easy for them to use essential oils and they’re accepted well by their children. Experience shows them that essential oils work well to manage illness in the family and to boost their health.

5. There’s tons of research to support essential oil efficacy

Each year, hundreds of research studies validate essential oil efficacy. Here are just a few that show essential oils can improve one’s health naturally:

  1. Protective essential oil attenuates influenza virus infection: An in vitro study in MDCK cells
  2. The Effectiveness of Aromatherapy in Reducing Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  3. The effects of preoperative aromatherapy massage on anxiety and sleep quality of colorectal surgery patients: A randomized controlled study

Certainly, the excitement behind essential oil use is backed by a compelling need! Do you want to try them out too? Visit my natural products page for more information on the oils I recommend. With over 20+ years of experience using them, I can help answer any questions you have as well!

Emotional health, Essential Oils, Natural pain relief, Natural Remedies, Pregnancy, Toxin-free living, Women's health

Essential Oils To Help You Manage Your Menstrual Cycle

March 15, 2018by Brandy FalconNo Comments

Menstruation is such fine-tuned wonder in women’s physiology.  In this article, I teach you about using essential oils for menstruation.  They’ll help you stay in touch with your body as you regulate your periods and avoid harmful medications. 

Why Support Menstruation Naturally?

Regular periods with little-to-no-discomfort signify good health and fertility.  Why don’t we celebrate this dance between hormones that help create potential new life?  Yes, there is the inconvenience and possible mess.  But the main reason most women dread their period is because pain and other symptoms of imbalance accompany it.

Treating symptoms with conventional medicine is challenging.  Medical doctors do not have answers for women experiencing difficult periods other than birth control pills and pain medications. Both types of pharmaceuticals have major, negative, long-term side effects.  It’s always best to consult with your doctor first to rule out any serious issues.  Usually though, natural medicine is safer and more effective.

Essential Oils for Menstruation

For those seeking to manage the mild symptoms of menstruation naturally at home, essential oils are a fantastic option to explore. Below are the oils you’ll want to keep handy to manage the most common complaints.  They’ll help during your flow, and also during the premenstrual phase and ovulation as well.

The essential oils can be used topically on the area of discomfort (3-4 drops diluted in ~ 1 T of carrier oil). They can also be diffused to help balance emotions that are often at the root of many physical complaints.  Feel free to blend them together too!

Geranium

(Pelargonium graveolens)

A sweet, harmonizing oil, geranium has been used since ancient times for regulating menses and for menorrhagia (excessive blood loss during menstruation). It continues to be a valuable oil for PMS symptoms such as agitation, nervous tension, cramping, headaches, backaches, stressed-adrenals, etc.  It can help resolve endometriosis as well.

Try this technique for painful or irregular periods:

Spread a drop of geranium on your foot arches, layer with castor oil, and cover with a sock. This covers important points in the Kidney and Spleen acupuncture channels on the foot that help regulate menstruation. The castor oil has an invigorating effect, helping to move blood & ease stagnation (which shows up as pain).

  • Mild cases: apply 2x/day for 10-14 days, then 1x/day for 30 more days
  • Moderate: apply 2x/day for 30 days, then 1x/day for 2 more months
  • Severe: apply 2x/day for 3-4 months, then 1x/day for 4-5 more months

Clary Sage

(Salvia sclarea)

Clary sage is regulating oil that is known for calming nerves and cooling inflammation. It helps with dysmenorrhea, PMS, headaches, frigidity, and depression. It also soothes the GI organs, resolving bloating and gas.

Ylang Ylang

(Cananga odorata)

Ylang ylang is a sedative for the nervous system, yet a stimulant for the circulatory system. So, it’s very calming, yet invigorating for the blood and musculature.  It relieves tension, improve libido, regulate hormonal balance, and can lift a woman’s spirit.

True Lavender

(Lavandula angustifolia)

Everyone is familiar with lavender, as it’s considered one of most versatile essential oils available. It can help a woman immensely with menstrual discomfort. It’s indicated for PMS, headaches, migraines, cramps, depression, nervous tension, insomnia, and even gas.

Some of you may have heard that lavender has estrogenic effects and should be avoided by men. That is a myth addressed in this article by well-known Aromatherapist Robert Tisserand: Lavender Oil Is Not Estrogenic

Sweet Fennel

(Foeniculum vulgare)

Lavender does not have estrogenic effects, but fennel DOES. It can actually increase milk supply in mothers, is valuable in the transition to menopause, but should be avoided by pregnant women.

Women experiencing amenorrhea (skipped menstrual periods) as well as dysmenorrhea benefit from Fennel. It also helps with gastrointestinal problems many women experience during ovulation and menstruation such as constipation, stomachaches, nausea, and flatulence.

Roman Chamomile

(Chamaemelum nobile)

Roman chamomile is one of the safest essential oils, yet it is also potent and has a huge therapeutic range.

It helps cycling women with dysmenorrhea, headaches, migraines, nervous tension, and also with calming the mind and spirit.  Thereby, it helps support a restful night sleep.

If you experience difficult periods, I hope you’ll consider using essential oils as a natural remedy to ease your discomfort. Perhaps you can appreciate this special time in your life even more.  Essential oil brands differ greatly in quality and thereby efficacy though. You can view my recommendations here.

I’m eager to hear how essential oils are helping you manage your menses!  Let me know if you have any questions in the comments!  And if you enjoyed this article, please share with friends who can use this advice as well.

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Gut Health, Kids Health, Natural Remedies, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Women's health

Relieving Constipation Is Easy With Acupressure

November 3, 2017by Brandy FalconNo Comments
acupressure for constipation

Have you or your child ever been constipated?  You may have noticed that the typical advice about increasing fiber, hydration, and exercise does not work for everyone. Try the acupressure for constipation sequence below to relieve your discomfort and help your body release it’s waste efficiently.

Why is Constipation a Serious Problem?

Constipation is one of the most uncomfortable human experiences.  Sometimes stools become so hard & dry it even hurts to poop. Since defecation is one of the body’s best ways of eliminating waste and toxins from the body, it’s important that you’re going daily. For this reason, comprehensive, individualized approaches like those provided by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are becoming more valued.

You’re less likely to experience hemorrhoids, painful fissures, leaky gut, vitamin deficiencies, poor immunity, and other risks of constipation like colorectal cancer if you’re moving your bowels daily.

TCM includes acupuncture/acupressure, massage, herbs, dietetics, and qigong, all of which can help relieve constipation and treat the root of the condition. Of course it’s best that you work with an experienced practitioner who can assess your condition objectively, determine if any lifestyle activity, prescription drug, or food intolerance is a culprit, and find the best treatment approach for you.

In the meantime, using the general acupressure protocol below can provide you some quick relief at home.

But first…

What is Constipation?

Some resources define constipation as dry, hard-to-pass stools.   Other sources say that it’s the absence of a bowel movement for 3 to 4 days. Both definitions point to the colon absorbing too much water from stools.  Or it could be that there’s an absence of beneficial gut bacteria which normally protect the colon (dysbiosis).

Common Constipation Treatments and Their Limits

Again, most medical doctors will tell you to drink more water, eat more fiber, and get more exercise in order to stay regular. Getting enough Vitamin C, magnesium, and supplementing with a probiotic can also help prevent constipation. Certainly, everyone should be taking this advice. It may be just enough to get you over a brief episode of irregular bowel movements.

However, for people with chronic constipation, further investigation is necessary. You don’t want to depend on laxatives, enemas, or even purgative natural herbs, though they may be necessary to unblock the bowels initially.

Quite often stress & tension can throw off the balance of beneficial gut flora and can negatively impact gut motility. Or someone may have a hard time “letting go” emotionally, which translates as tension in the body when one tries to maintain control. That’s precisely what happen in the large intestine! It becomes tense and still and if we simply to to push and strain when peristalsis has slowed, we can only make matters worse (hemorrhoids).

This is where TCM, particularly acupuncture/acupressure and qigong, can be a savior since they relieve stress and treat emotional/energetic issues reliably.

Acupressure for Constipation

If you’re feeling backed-up, you may benefit greatly from trying the general acupressure sequence below. All of the points have a direct impact on gut motility and move your vital energy downward.

Press each point for ~ 1 minute. Slow down your breathing to help you relax and keep your mind occupied by this direct experience of connecting with your body. As you inhale, feel the pressure of your finger against the point, as much as you can tolerate. As you exhale, feel any tension release.

The process can be relaxing and highly enjoyable, especially if you incorporate the use of essential oils. For adults, you can use a regulating essential oil diluted mildly in a carrier oil at your fingertips to help augment the effect of the treatment. My favorite is a blend of lemon, peppermint, and rosemary.

For children, using a 5% dilution of mandarin/tangerine essential oil is safer and more appropriate. Mandarin is well-known in Chinese Medicine for improving digestive health.

The Acupressure Points:

Conception Vessel (CV) 12

(Contraindicated in pregnancy)

Locate on the vertical midline of abdomen midway between the xiphoid process of the sternum and the belly button.

Conception Vessel (CV) 6

(Contraindicated in pregnancy)

Stomach (St) 25

(Contraindicated in pregnancy)

Locate these points bilateral to the belly button on the abdomen, midway between the belly button and outer border of the abdominal muscles.

Stomach (St) 36

For adults, this point is approximately 4 finger-widths below the kneecap on the highest portion of the muscle lateral to the shinbone. Or for both adults and kids, move your finger up along the muscle lateral to the crest of the shin bone toward the kneecap until you feel a depression in between the tibia and fibula bones.

Triple Warmer/San Jiao (SJ) 6

This point is approximately 4 finger-widths up from the outside of the wrist, which is about 1/3 of the distance between the wrist and crease of the elbow.

Large Intestine (LI) 4

(Contraindicated in pregnancy)

Locate this point at the peak of the mound above the end-crease of the thumb & first finger.

Gua sha/scraping on sacrum

(Contraindicated in pregnancy)

Using a clean flat surface (TCM practitioners often recommend patients use a spoon at home), scrape the sacrum gently in a downward movement to release tension and move energy down.

Clockwise massage on belly to stimulate large intestine

With one of the diluted essential oils mentioned above this list, massage the abdomen in a clockwise circle, tracing the outline of the large intestine with firm but tolerable pressure. Repeat several times.

acupressure massage for constipation

After completing this sequence, you may want to go for a relaxed walk. Feel your energy moving down into your feet to further release tension from your body. You can then sit on the toilet, breathing deeply to encourage a relaxed bowel movement. If it doesn’t come easily, don’t push! Just repeat this sequence later until the time is right.

Once the bowels are moving again, this sequence can then be used daily as a preventative measure.

Of course if you have any stabbing pain, if there’s dark blood, or signs that your condition may be a more serious issue, seek the help of a health practitioner.

I sincerely hope this acupressure sequence aids any of you who suffer from constipation. Please reach out if you need further help!

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Essential Oils, Kids Health, Natural Remedies, Women's health

Natural Remedies To Resolve A Cold Quickly

September 29, 2017by Brandy FalconNo Comments
natural cold remedies

Here’s several natural remedies for the common cold that work for my family and clients. I hope they keep you healthy all season long!

There’s a lot we can do to keep our bodies healthy and strong.  However, sometimes a few sleepless nights, a rushed plane trip, or a sugar binge can be just the thing to get our immune system off track. 

Then, BAM! We have a cold.

It happens. Now the priority shifts from prevention to how to shorten the cold’s duration so we don’t miss too much work or school, to prevent secondary infections like sinusitis & bronchitis, and to make sure it doesn’t spread throughout the entire family.

What are the first things you should try? Here’s a bit list of many natural remedies that work for my family and clients that I’d like to share with you…

Natural Home Remedies For The Common Cold

1. Rinse Your Nose With Warm Salt Water

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I’m a yogini and a huge fan of the practice Jala Neti. In Western terms, it’s nasal lavage, or simply rinsing the nasal passages with warm salt water. It removes allergens & impurities from your nostrils, and keeps rhinovirus from setting up shop in your nose (thereby helping to prevent sinus and ear infections if you’re prone to them).

So at the first inkling of a cold, this is my primary treatment. You can use a neti pot with clean, warm salt water or use one of the many saline nose sprays that you can find at health food stores (easiest for very young kids).

Please watch my video here for simple instructions on how to use a neti pot:

 

2. Boost Your Immune Response With Supplements

This is the time to supplement if you can’t get enough good quality food into your family’s diet.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C can reduce symptoms of the common cold and flu by 85%, but the source and dose of this vitamin are both important. Please revisit our post Is Extra Vitamin C A Reliable Key To Good Health? to learn why increasing your daily intake is wise, how much you should take, and in what form.

Zinc

Zinc has also been proven to reduce the duration of colds if used immediately. Studies show that 75mg of zinc, the equivalent of 3-4 lozenges per day while sick, is needed to get over colds quicker. Lozenges are more effective and safer than sprays. You’ll just want to choose some natural varieties that are very low in sugar.

Echinacea & Goldenseal

Echinacea and goldenseal are Western herbs that many people find useful to help squash out colds. A friend was just telling me that her 7 yr old son took a highly concentrated echinacea tincture on the first day of a viral infection. His fever dropped immediately and he barely had any symptoms the next day.

We keep tinctures of both herbs in our house (and I’m currently growing echinacea in our garden!) However, I tend to use Chinese herbs more for my family and clients, simply because I have more experience with them.

3. TCM Home Remedies For The Common Cold

In our last post, The Wise Agree: Bundling Up Is Necessary To Prevent Colds, we talked about the common cold from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

In TCM, Wind-Cold is the term for the initial signs of a cold. What I haven’t mentioned yet is that there is another condition called Wind-Heat that is sometimes a progression of the common cold, or the manifestation of a cold in someone who has a warmer constitution, or even the same viral infection but in warmer weather.

To be treated with TCM, it’s VERY important to know which type of illness you have since the symptoms are quite different and therefore so is the treatment. Of course going to a TCM practitioner for a diagnosis is best. In addition to acupuncture & herbs, practitioners can do cupping and gua sha treatments which can significantly shorten a cold and provide immediate relief for body aches.

Once you have experience in this system though, working with home remedies may get you by just fine if you’re not able to make it into the clinic.

Wind cold

When we catch Wind-Cold we experience a combination of:

  • aversion to cold
  • chills
  • stiff neck & body
  • headache
  • runny nose
  • sneezing
  • clear or white phlegm

The goal is to warm the body and open the pores to “release the cold exterior”, which basically means to induce sweating. We can do this by:

  • Taking a hot bath
  • Massage your neck and upper back with warming oils (see essential oil section below)
  • Eat warm, simple soups like miso with ginger & scallions
  • Drink warming teas with ginger and cinnamon

Be sure that once you start sweating you cover up quickly and stay warm until you’re well. Avoid cold, raw, or greasy foods (definitely NO dairy).

Wind heat

The approach above is NOT appropriate if you have symptoms of Wind-Heat. How does heat manifest in the body?

  • Feeling hot (whether or not there is a fever)
  • Sore or scratchy throat
  • Dry cough
  • Yellow phlegm
  • Congested nose

The goal is to “clear heat to release exterior” and it’s done by:

  • Massaging with cooling oils (see essential oil section below)
  • Drinking plenty of water and cooling peppermint tea
  • Eating only when hungry and then simple foods like miso soup, steamed pears, kelp & seaweed
  • Taking Yin Qiao – herbal formula available at Whole Foods and other health food stores (only appropriate for Wind-Heat since it contains many cooling herbs)

Continue to stay bundled up and avoid cold, raw, greasy foods as well as hot foods like ginger, cinnamon, onion, and garlic.

4. Essential Oils

Aromatherapy is always a first-line treatment in my family. I also use essential oils in combination with TCM treatments in the clinic.

To dilate the nasal passages and improve respiration for family members and clients alike, I diffuse dōTERRA’s Breathe blend. I typically combine this with Frankincense to give the immune system an extra boost.

Combined with TCM treatments, I use Wild Orange plus a few warming oils like Clove Bud, Ginger, or Cinnamon diluted in plenty of Fractionated Coconut carrier oil for Wind-Cold. For Wind-Heat, the Breathe blend mentioned above or anything with a base of cooling peppermint is appropriate.

I hope this information helps prepare you for any colds that you or a family member come down with!

What is your first course of action when you get a cold? Do you have any remedies that we should know about? Let’s help each other out by discussing in the comments!

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Autumn, Kids Health, Natural Remedies, Seasons, Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Wise Agree: Bundling Up Is Necessary To Prevent Colds

September 22, 2017by Brandy FalconNo Comments
stay warm to stay healthy

Maybe you heard it from your grandmother, or maybe from a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, like me: you need to stay warm in cold weather to prevent illness!

Until fairly recently, medical doctors believed this was a folk myth – only microorganisms can get you sick, not the weather. And because people crowd closer together indoors when it’s cold, they are more likely to share germs. But researchers at Yale have confirmed now that colder weather (and a colder body) actually slows our immune response, making rhinovirus and other pathogens more likely to get us sick.

TCM practitioners have known this about cold weather for thousands of years. Here’s a greater explanation of why you should listen to them (and your grandmother) when it comes to preventing illness when the temperatures drop.

How Weather Influences Us From A TCM Perspective

Cold is considered one of the “6 Evils”, along with Wind, Heat/Fire, Summer Heat, Damp, and Dryness. This might sound a little wacky to a modern mind, but if you place yourself in a world thousands of years ago when TCM was first developed, it makes perfect sense.

This is simply the way the Chinese explained how humans can be negatively affected by changes in nature. And what is happening outside of us can influence our inner landscape. For our discussion here about illness during cold weather, we are focusing on Cold and Wind.

Cold

External cold can create inner cold from the TCM perspective. Cold is congealing (think of water forming ice). It stagnates our vital energy and inhibits free movement of blood (slowing our immune response). It can also lead to sluggishness and cause muscles to contract & joints to stiffen.

This is why we TCM practitioners suggest that you stay warm in cold weather!

It’s why we use heat instead of ice to circulate energy around stiff, painful muscles & joints.

It’s why we suggest you limit cold, raw foods to the hottest months of the year and eat well-cooked food as well as inherently warmer foods (like onion and garlic if tolerated), during the rest of the year.

And it’s also why we suggest drinking fluids at room temperature or warmer.

Wind

The ancient Chinese Text Nei Jing says that “100 diseases develop from Wind”.

External Wind carries with it microorganisms and allergens. It’s light, airy, changes quickly, and likes to combine with other influences.

When wind is created in the body by itself, we experience dizziness, gas, tinnitus, tremors, and convulsions, depending on where it shows up in the body. When combined with Cold, a condition called Wind-Cold is created, which presents as initial symptoms of the Common Cold: stiff neck, headache, runny nose, chills, and possibly a fever.

Stay Warm to Prevent Wind-Cold Illness

Wind carries Cold into the body (in addition to Heat, but we’re not going there today). Certain areas of the body are more vulnerable than others, particularly the head, neck, and upper back. There is even a point on the upper back called Wind Gate that we use to “release exterior wind” when someone gets a cold. It’s important to stop the “invasion” here before Cold progresses to the Lungs and causes further complications.

But remember, any experience of cold and shivering with any exposed body part can lower your immune response, so these are not the only areas we need to guard.

Staying cooped up indoors is not a healthy option. Getting fresh air is still a good idea.

So how do you prevent Wind-Cold invasion?

Simply…

  • Wear a scarf and hat
  • Cover up immediately when your pores are open, like after a sweaty gym workout or getting out of a hot bath
  • Wear socks or slippers in the house, especially on cold tile floors
  • Wear pants and shoes (seriously Californians!)

Of course there’s still a chance you can get sick.  Your body will be able to cope so much better if you continue to stay covered and warm while you heal from the cold with natural remedies.

In Conclusion

Suffering from the wind and cold is not fun, so why don’t we listen to our bodies and just cover up? I know you don’t want to get sick and you certainly don’t want your family members to get sick either.

Hopefully the information I shared here is enough to encourage you to cover up sufficiently (in addition to eating well and avoiding stress) to protect your immune system and prevent colds. Because not everyone exposed to rhinovirus and influenza gets sick – only those who have a weakened immune system.

Next week we’ll look at TCM treatments you can apply at home if you do actually get ill…

What do you think about keeping your self warm to prevent illness?  As always, I’d love to read your comments and have a discussion about this!

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Brandy Falcon, L.Ac., E-RYT